Shelf



Oct.'7, 1941. c. w. JOHNSON SHELF Filed Nov. 8, 1938 Patented Get. 7,1941 UNITED STATES P TENT QFFICE ..Chester' Johnson, Hanson, Mass.,assignor'to a Walter E. Lombard, Arlington, Mass.

- Application November s, 1938, Serial NQJIZ39A8Q' Y 11 Claims.(cram-90) This invention relates to shelves and particularly to a shelfwhich is made hollow and in two parts, each part being formed of sheetmetal, these parts being adapted to be' joined together either inalinement or at right angles to each other. 1

' The invention consists in a shelf centrally divided into two parts,each part being closed at one end and opened at the opposite end, theopened ends extending transversely of the shelf parts at an angle of 45degrees. a

The invention further consists in providing one part of the shelf witha" tubular extension preferably formed integral therewith, thisextension projecting, from its open end and being adapted for insertioninto the open end of the other part. The invention further consists inproviding each shelf part with a wall bracket which may be connectedquickly to either shelf part in difierent positions, said bracket havingupwardly extending ears for insertion into elongated openings in eithervthe upper or lower walls of the twoparts of the shelf. I I The inventionfurther consists in providing the vertical portion of each wall bracketwith a keyhole slot by which the bracket may be locked in position upona headed pin extending from a Vertical wall of a building. I

' The object of the'invention is to provide a demountab-le shelf in twoparts which may be assembled to accommodate it to various conditionswhen securing it to a wall, as for instance against a fiat wall, into arecess of a walLoor around a iprojecting' corner of a wall;

This object is attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, one preferredform thereof is illustrated in the drawing, this form. having been foundto give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to beunderstood that the various instrumentalities of which the inventionconsistscan be variously arranged and organized, and the invention isnot limited to the precise arrangement and organiza- Figure 2 representsa verticalsection thereof 1m 1m 2, 2 on Fig. 1;

Figure 3 represents a vertical section thereof on line3, 3 on Fig. 1.

"'Figur'e 4rep'resents a vertical section of the ,shelf and one of itssupporting brackets, the

cuttingplane being on line 4, 4 on Fig. 1.

Figure'5 represents a plan of said shelf with its two partsjassembled atright angles to each other, I

Figu'reb represents a side elevation of said shelf.

- Similar characters indicate likeparts throughout the several figures.of the drawing.

In the drawinglis shown a shelf formed in two parts Ill and 'll",'eac'h.part being made up of sheet metal closedat' oneend l2 and openedat the other end l3. I

.The ends l3 of the two parts 10, Hare at an angle of 45' degreesto theside walls of the shelf. Th two parts III, II are hollow with an upperwall l4 and a lower wall Hi.

The part Ill has extending from its open end a tubular extension iii,the upper and lower walls I1, 18 of which are integral with the upperand lower walls 14, I5 and are slightly depressed therefrom, as shownat[6st, soas to fit within the open end of the part H and contact with theinner faces of] the upper and lower walls Mr, l5'x thereof.

The upper and lower walls ll, l8 of the extension IG each have parallelslots 19 formed therein perpendicular to the open end l3 of the partlll.I

In the part II the upper and lower walls Mr, l 5.1:jhave' strucktherefrom ears 20. extending inwardly into alinernent with the slots I9in the upper and lower walls I! and [8 of the tubular extension I6. I IWhentheftwo parts I0, II as shown in Fig. 1 are moved toward each otherto lock the two parts together to form a straight shelf, the cars 20will enter the slots l9 and prevent any lateral movement of one part IIIor II relatively to the other. v

, :Whenzthetwoparts Iii; I l. have been locked together in the "mannerjust described, the shelf is very' rigid owing'to the tubular characterof the extension l6. 1 1 I a I Near the outer ends of the parts l0, 1 ll, the upper and lower "walls M, l5 have extending transverselytherethrough near, the side edges thereof elongated slots 2|, and theseslots are adapted to receive the upwardly extending ears 22 formedupon'the supporting brackets 23.

" These brackets 23 are made of spring metal and the body portion 24 ofwhich is wider than the narrow ears 22.

Owing to this construction shoulders 25 are formed on the opposite sidesof the ears 22 on which shoulders the shelf is adapted to rest.

The rear vertical portion 23:1: of the bracket 23 has a forward bend 26therein on which the rear end of the shelf is adapted to rest when theear 22 is inserted into one of the rear slots 2 I.

This rear vertical portion 23a: of each bracket has a keyhole slot 21formed therein to coact with a headed pin 28 inserted into a verticalwall 29.

When it is desired to remove the bracket "23 from the shelf the forwardcurved portion of the bracket 23 may be sprung rearwardly until the Itis believed that the many advantages of a shelf thus constructed will befully apparent without further description.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A sectional shelf centrally divided at an angle of 45 degrees intotwo parts both formed rectangular in cross section of sheet metal, onepart having integral therewith at its angular end an extension providedwith a plurality of parallel slots, and the other part being open andprovided with inwardly projecting ears integral therewith adapted forinsertion into certain of said slots when the two parts of the shelf:are telescoped together.

forward ear 22 is removed from theslotZl in the forward portion of theshelf. 1

This having been done it is easy to disengage the shelf from the rearear 22.

When the shelf is mounted upon the bracket .23 the spring tension of themetal will retain it in position and prevent accidental displacementthereof, the front ear being inclined outwardly. 7

When it is desired to mount the shelf on a corner walLthe part II may beinverted and then when inverted connected to the part Hi.

When this is accomplished the two parts l0,

. II will be in the position shown in Fig. 5 of the verted and then thebrackets 23 secured to the lower walls thereof with the ears 22extending into the elongated openings 2|.

The side walls of the shelf are'formed by flanges 30, 3| formed on theupper and lower walls [4, 15, these flanges overlapping and beingsecured together by spotwelding, as shown in l igs. 2, 3, andd. Theupper and lower walls l1, I8 of the tubular extension I6 have flanges32, 33 overlapping and spotwelded together asshown in Fig.2 of

the drawing, thus giving great rigidity to the extension l6;

It is obvious that the outer walls of the two parts H], II should havethe same finish so that the walls of the two parts will conform toeachother regardless of which part II] or H' is inverted relatively tothe other.

This makes a very convenient form of shelf, the brackets 23 thereofbeing removable quickly from the parts [0, II and capableof beingsecured to either the upper or lower wall of the parts 10, ll accordingto whether the two parts of the shelf are to be secured to a wall inalinement or whether these two parts II], II are to be disposed at rightangles to each other to form a corner shelf in a recess or form a cornershelf surrounding a projecting corner wall.

A shelf thus constructed made up oftwo parts I0, H with removablebrackets 23 therefor which may be secured to the shelf invarious'positions is a great convenience as the various parts may beassembled to form shelves to suit various conditions.

The shelves may be cheaply constructed at little expense and being madeof sheet metal they are very rigid and can support considerable weight.

2. A sectional shelf centrally divided at an "angle of45 degrees intotwo parts both formed sion provided with a plurality of parallel slotsin whichthe walls of said slotted extension are depressed from the upperand lower walls of said shelf part; the other part being openat theangular end to receive said extension; and inwardly projecting earsintegral with the upper and lower walls of the other part and adaptedfor insertion into certain of said slots when the two parts of the shelfare telescoped together.

3. A sectional shelf centrally divided at an angle of 45 degrees intotwo parts both formed rectangular of sheet metal, one part havingintegral therewith at its angular end an extension provided with aplurality of parallel slots in the upper and lower walls thereof, saidslotted extension being tubular with its side walls secured together;the other part being open at the angular end to receive said extension;and inwardly projecting ears integral with theiother' part adapted forinsertion into certain of said slots when the two parts of the shelf aretelescoped together.

4. A hollow sectional shelf, made in two parts each part beingrectangular in cross section and formed of sheet metal with wideparallel upper and lower walls and narrow front and rear walls, saidparts having integral therewith means for positioning said parts inalinement or at right angles to each other when the two parts of theshelf are telescoped together. f

5. A shelf as set forth in claim 4 in which the upper and lower walls ofeach part between the front and rear walls thereof have a pair ofequally spaced elongated slots therein parallel to the front and rearwalls thereof, said slotspro'viding means whereby the upward extensionsofa bracket are insertable in the slots of either of said walls. I I

6. A shelf as set forth in claim 4 in which the upper and lower walls ofeach shelf part has two slots equidistant from and parallel with thefront and rear walls thereof, a V-shaped supporting bracket of springmetal for each part, said brackets having at their upper ends narrowears insertable into a selected pair of said slots in either the upperor lower wall of said parts, and'the rear portion'of each bracket havinga horizontal portion on which the rear part of said shelf may rest.

'7. A hollow sectional shelf formed in two parts rectangular in crosssection of sheet metal and having formed integral therewith means forpositioning said parts in alinement or. perpendicular to each other andeach part being provided with a pair of widely separated slots parallelto the front wall of said part and extending through each of the upperand lower walls, a Vrshaped bracket for each part, said bracket beingformed of spring metal with narrow upwardly extend-e ing ears at theupper end insertable into a selected pair of said slots in either theupper or lower wall of each part of said shelf.

8. A shelf. as set forth in claim 7 in which the V-shaped supportingbrackets are formed of flat spring metal and are removable freely fromsaid parts, each of said brackets having at their upper ends narrow earsinsertable into a selected pair of said slots in either the upper orlower wall of either part with its rear vertical portion alined witheither the front or rear wall of said part.

9. A sectional shelf centrally divided at an angle of 45 degrees intotwo hollow parts each part being rectangular in cross section with wideparallel upper and lower walls and narrower side walls, one part havingits upper and lower walls each provided with an offset member having twoparallel open ended slots therein and extending outwardly from andperpendicular to the angular edge thereof and the other part being openand provided with inwardly extending integral projections extending intothe slots of said members to properly position the two parts relativelyto each other when the two parts of the shelf are telescoped together.

10. A shelf as set forth in claim 9 in which the two hollow partsthereof are formed with over: lapping flanges on the upper and lowerwalls forming closed front and rear Walls.

11. A shelf as set forth in claim 9 in which the two hollow partsthereof are formed of sheet metal with the ofiset members integral withand extending from one part narrower than the open end of the otherpart.

CHESTER W. JOHNSON.

